Uh oh: Secret Service peccadilloes more the rule than the exception?

posted at 7:21 pm on April 25, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

At least that’s what the Secret Service agents under scrutiny for the Colombian hooker scandal are claiming, according to the Washington Post. Three more agents have been discharged, bringing the total to nine, but some may end up fighting to get their jobs back. First, Politico reports on the latest terminations:

Three more Secret Service employees were forced out of their jobs Tuesday, bringing the total number of agency employees to lose their jobs in the Colombia prostitution scandal to nine.

Two of the employees are resigning, while a third is having his security clearance revoked and will leave the agency, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the chairman of the House homeland security committee, told POLITICO. Two more agency employees have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Paul Morrissey [no relation — Ed], the Secret Service’s assistant director, confirmed the personnel changes in a statement.

With the latest departures, all 12 Secret Service employees suspected of misconduct in Cartagena ahead of the president’s trip there for the Summit of the Americas have been dealt with by the agency. Six resigned or were fired last week, while another employee was cleared.

“At this point, all twelve have either been cleared of serious misconduct, resigned, retired, been notified of personnel actions to permanently revoke their security clearances, or have been proposed for permanent removal for cause,” Morrissey said. “The Secret Service is committed to conducting a full, thorough and fair investigation in this matter, and will not hesitate to take appropriate action should any additional information come to light.”

The additional information might come from the employees themselves, and might result in the need for a much wider investigation into Secret Service activities:

Some Secret Service employees accused of misconduct in the Colombian prostitution scandal are privately contending that their conduct didn’t warrant dismissal because senior managers tolerated similar behavior during official trips, according to people familiar with the employees’ thinking.

Several of the men who agreed to resign under pressure last week are also considering reversing their decisions and fighting to keep their jobs, according to the people knowledgeable about the case. …

Those close to the accused employees said that in an effort to fight for their jobs they could opt to divulge details of how colleagues spent some of their downtime on presidential trips — drinking heavily, visiting strip clubs and cavorting with women for hire.

“Of course it has happened before” said one agent not implicated in the matter, remarking on the Secret Service’s history of occasionally licentious partying. “This is not the first time. It really only blew up in this case because the [U.S. Embassy] was alerted.”.

The first hints that this might be true come from the scorecard of the people involved. The debauchery in Cartagena didn’t just involve a couple of low-level rookies; more than one supervisor took part, one of whom offered indiscreet commentary about Sarah Palin on his Facebook page. The scope of the revelry and the inclusion of members of the military makes this look even more routine than aberrant.

And perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. My good friend Paul Mirengoff has returned to Power Line this month after a lengthy hiatus, and he reminded us last night that people in high-stress jobs are often risk-takers who need to party as hard as they work:

I don’t wish to put up any strong defense of the Secret Service employees in question, or to argue that they should not be sacked. But I don’t believe we should be very surprised by the misconduct of agents who put their life on the line to protect the president and his family against danger from sources that may not reveal themselves until the last second. There may be a more stressful job, but I can’t think of one.

Given the stress inherent in this work, it is normal that more than a few agents blow off steam by drinking, carousing, and in some cases whoring. This doesn’t mean that those who engage in the latter activity shouldn’t be fired; a job like this should be reserved for those who can transcend “normal.” But one might still have sympathy for the agents who failed to do so.

I agree — to a point. One could understand how an individual agent or two might exercise poor judgment and get caught up in the atmosphere of an exotic locale. However, they aren’t supposed to be on vacation; they were there to identify potential threats and focus on providing a secure environment for the President of the United States. Even more to the point, the involvement of supervisors shows that this was likely not an aberration, but simply one instance where it got so out of hand that they were caught in the act.

Congress needs to keep looking into the Secret Service to ensure that the culture of the agency provides focus to the job at hand.

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I know a lot of people have expressed their support of the SS Director, but he should be out on his butt already. I don’t care how nice of a guy he is, or how much of a leader he’s perceived to be, he has failed this organization and put the president and our nation at risk. If it’s deemed that his mid-level management were the more direct culprits, they should all be out too.

There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. A Marine is being discharged for comments he made on Facebook; the entire SS department should be bleached. Absolutely no one connected to this incident should remain.

The debauchery in Cartagena didn’t just involve a couple of low-level rookies; more than one supervisor took part, one of whom offered indiscreet commentary about Sarah Palin on his Facebook page. The scope of the revelry and the inclusion of members of the military makes this look even more routine than aberrant.

Yeah, too many people involved for this to be a first time event. I don’t might a post event party (up to a point) but be professionals ahead of time.

So lets change the name from US Secret Service to US The Penis Patrol. They deserve to be laughed at and they have destroyed their so called esteem. When the mighty think so highly of themselves the slope into the sewer can be very steep.

Agents not involved in the Colombia trip, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss matters publicly, said the events in Cartagena may be embarrassing, but they are not without precedent. They pointed to a 2009 visit to Buenos Aires by former President Bill Clinton, whose protective detail included agents and uniformed officers. During that trip, the agents said, members of the detail went out for a late night of partying at strip clubs.

If they were off duty and engaging in legal activity, why should they lose their job? If there is something in their contract with the government or in their operational manual that prohibits this type of activity (drinking, whoring, etc.), that would be one thing. But just because this activity goes against the “image” of the Secret Service doesn’t justify termination.

Of course, when I discuss this matter with my significant other, my stance is a little different: “your right honey, that’s awful what they did even if it was legal; they should all be fired and shot at dawn.”

There’s another thing that keeps coming out- Yes, there are SS Agents that are asked to put their lives on the line. But only a couple times in the last half century have any of them had to actually do it. And, if they prepare properly, they minimize their own risk. They’re not combat arms in a war zone, after all.

It’s also likely that the advanced party doesn’t go anywhere near the president. So partying hard while they’re supposed to be setting up for the president’s arrival is utterly inexcusable. If one of my Marines on the advanced party for my M198 didn’t prep the site properly because he was too busy cavorting with the local women or partaking of some other improper vice, he’d be digging a hole big enough to bury a 5-ton. Then after he filled it in, he’d dig another one.

The actions of these guys potentially put lives at risk. They should be immediately terminated without benefits.

When you boil all this down to the basics, if I were the agent who argued with or refused to pay an escort/prostitute the price we agreed to or she demanded after staying with me all night, thus causing this imbroglio, I think I might be watching my back or hoping for a witness protection program somewhere, say, on Mars.

Besides the Secret Service, there have been Navy SEALs implicated in this event, fairly or unfairly. And, sometimes, there’s just no where to hide.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday three Marines on a U.S. Embassy security team and one embassy staff member were punished for allegedly pushing a prostitute out of a car in Brasilia late last year after a dispute over payment.

The incident is similar, but unrelated, to the scandal involving Secret Service agents at the Summit of Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, before President Barack Obama arrived for a visit.

Panetta, speaking to reporters in Brasilia, says the Marines were pulled out of the country. Two had their ranks reduced. The embassy staffer was removed from his post…………….
…………
According to another defense official, the embassy staff member was a supervisor. The second official said the woman broke her collarbone when she was pushed from the car in late December.

The official says the embassy tracked the woman down and paid for her medical expenses. But in the wake of the Cartagena scandal, she has hired an attorney and is suing the embassy. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Panetta is touring South America to meet with his counterparts in the region.

If you are part of the advance team prepping for the President’s arrival, doesn’t that mean that you are working? The Seal teams are some pretty hard working boys too, but I doubt they visit the local Single Pole Ballet when they are on an op.

They were on the job. They put our country, the president and
whomever he had with him at risk. They should ALL be fired. In
particular, their supervisors. It was their job to see that
rules and regulations were followed.

When you boil all this down to the basics, if I were the agent who argued with or refused to pay an escort/prostitute the price we agreed to or she demanded after staying with me all night, thus causing this imbroglio, …

TXUS on April 25, 2012 at 7:41 PM

Hold it please,
prostitutes collect 100% of their fee upfront , right ?

I can’t help but wonder if the SS is taking the brunt/heat of this, to take pressure off Admin officials involved? That “transparent” investigation by Obama’s lawyer took less time than what some of the SS Agents spent with their prostitutes.

Military critics claimed that the scandal highlighted a hostile attitude in US military culture towards women in the areas of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and equal treatment of women in career advancement and opportunity.

I work with this organization on a regular basis and know some of the people who were in Columbia at the time. The press needs to leave this organization alone. They are a joy to work with. Professional, courteous, and thorough. Exposing this agency to the light of day is a huge mistake. There is no cultural problem. We are young, we are vibrant, we drink. We carouse. Get over it. If you want angels, hire priests, these agents did nothing illegal and did not compromise the protectee. There, I’ve said my piece. I’m done.

Any suggestion that somehow this behavior comes from the President’s administration shows a ignorance as to how the organization is run. I am no fan of this presidency however this has nothing to do with him. Sorry, that’s just how it is.

The only reason prostitution was outlawed in most states was because during WWII, too many GIs were getting VD from nearby brothels. That was before antibiotics and cheap testing was available.

Also, it was a bone thrown to the mob by corrupt politicians. By outlawing prostitution it basically forced the entire service industry into the hands of organized crime and the illegality acts as a barrier of competition for non-criminal providers.

Any suggestion that somehow this behavior comes from the President’s administration shows a ignorance as to how the organization is run. I am no fan of this presidency however this has nothing to do with him. Sorry, that’s just how it is.

Dr. Manhattan on April 25, 2012 at 8:05 PM

He is the Chief Executive. IOW the Buck Stops Here. If GWB had been anywhere around during this we all know who the press would be blaming ad infinitum for the detail chasing tail etc.

Meh. Waiting for the report on the investigation of the contingent that escorted Mahlia to Mexico on spring break. Bound to include drugs and kinky carousing. Or that of those escorting Mochelle on her jet setting vacays.

Dr Manhattan, thou protests too much. A little to close to the bone, step back and see it from the outside. I too worked closely with this agency for many years and I know what your trying to say but look at this subjectively and honestly. Those agents & officers screwed up big time and should lose their jobs and taxpayer funded benefits as well. IMHO

There was an article at American Thinker about this, yesterday perhaps, and it built upon this as well as possible lower standards to increase diversity, combined with cronyism or position payoff to the field office agent in charge of Miami. There were a couple of examples of past situations and how they were handled. Good read.

Let’s just go back to “Boys Will Be Boys”. You can’t…you know, like expect *men* to conduct themselves with dignity or even responsibility, because they’re being governed by their pen!ses. So if a male pilot gets in the plane essentially drunk, well, boys will be boys and you never know when you’ll have catastrophic engine failure so live it up at the Holiday Inn and the passengers, who cares. And if these Secret Service guys are mashing with hookers– good on them!

It’s a shame men have to live with these low expectations but perhaps well earned.

This behavior is absolutely predictable. Years and years and years of government selections based on favoritism, race, ethnicity, quid pro quo, gender, cronyism, crooked kickbacks, etc,in lieu of aptitude, skill and performance. The result is Secret Service immorality, Cornhusker kickbacks, Louisiana purchases, GSA taxpayer rape, TSA indignities, ICE criminality, Attorney General quasi-treason, union coercion and bullying, EPA abridgement of individual liberties and an unfunded liabilities debt in excess of 114 TRILLION! The end product of this increasing corruption is increasing incompetence and eventual anarchy as surely as 2+2+4.

Behavior in ANY group is influenced by cultural, political and social influences, both external and internal.
The Secret Service are people just like you and me who put their big boy/girl pants on every morning and report for duty to this administration.
Imagine the atmosphere in which these people have to operate. In this admistration, respect for the individual’s position and the office of the superior are suspect from top to bottom.

Perhaps I’m a fogey, but I doubt the wives of these men see all this as an “insignificant fault” or “tiny sin.” Our nation is an offended party as well; just because other offenses are greater, doesn’t mean these are insignificant.

Likewise, just because we shouldn’t go all Scarlet Letter on these guys, doesn’t mean we should dismiss their sinful behavior as petty.

Likewise, just because we shouldn’t go all Scarlet Letter on these guys, doesn’t mean we should dismiss their sinful behavior as petty.

G. Charles on April 26, 2012 at 3:03 AM

I agree but I am more interested in an investigation of the culture that resulted in over 20 individuals thinking that this kind of behavior was acceptable. And, as the facts leaking out prove, Columbia was not the isolated event that the Secret Service is claiming. There is an underlying culture that allowed this kind of misconduct.